Ammunition consists of the projectiles and propelling charges used in small arms, artillery, and other guns. Ammunition size is usually expressed in terms of caliber, which is the diameter of the projectile as measured in millimeters or inches. In general, projectiles less than 20 mm or 0.60 inch in diameter are classified as small-arm, and larger calibers are considered artillery. A complete round of ammunition, which is referred to as a fixed type round, consists of all the components necessary for one firing of the gun. These normally included a projectile, the propellant, and a primer that ignites the propellant. Other components such as the cartridge case, fuze, bursting charge, and lubricant are frequently included.
Modern small-arms ammunition is nearly always of the fixed type. Complete rounds are usually called cartridges, and projectiles are called bullets. Cartridge cases or shells are most commonly made of brass, although steel is also widely used. Many varieties of bullets are cast from lead and can have lubricant or grease grooves formed on the bullet outer surface.
Handloading is the process used to create firearm cartridges by hand versus those put together en masse and sold commercially, generally in packages of 6 to 50. When previously-fired cases or shells are used, the process is often called reloading. Specific details of handloading and reloading can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,497,155 and 7,549,364, both issued to Richard Koskela, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
After casting bullets from lead, it can be desirable to apply lubricant to any lubricant or grease grooves formed on the bullets' outer surfaces. Lubricant is applied to the bullet so that when a bullet is fired, the lubricant is transferred along the passage of the bullet down a rifled bore. Generally, lubricant is transferred from the bullet grease groove to the bore surface through compression, linear acceleration, and radial acceleration when the bullet is fired. Additionally, lubricant is injected forward during the firing process due to high-pressure gas leakage into the lubrication groove.
Some methods and apparatuses useful for applying lubricant require a bullet to be oriented with its tip-end facing down. Additionally, other bullet or projectile systems also may require a tip-end-down oriented bullet. Acceptable means for dispensing tip-end-down oriented bullets are not found in the prior art. The prior art includes inefficient devices that simply reject improperly oriented bullets rather than reorient them and devices that are simply to large or expensive for smaller applications. Unfortunately, while skilled artisans have devoted considerable effort toward the development and improvement of bullet-orienting systems, current efforts have not yielded entirely acceptable results. Given the deficiencies prevalent in the art, the need for continued improvement is evident.